Earlier this spring, there was a “brute force attack” on WordPress sites all over the web, including this one. It took us down. In fact, it went in and modified some things that I’m still trying to fix.

But finally, after 6 or so weeks of my fighting with WordPress, code, and my hosting company – the site is back!

Cresta, Angela, Kevin and I will get back to posting as soon as possible – and that includes some belated Mad Men posts.

Wines of Chile USA announced today the launch of their debut game on Facebook, Terroir Hunting, where users will be able to virtually run their own winery. The game will involve virtually harvesting the grapes, then bottling, selling and exporting your wines and finally having them rated by wine experts. Real Chilean winemakers will give users tips along the way as their wine empires grow.

Terroir, which notes the special characteristics that geography, geology and climate bestow upon grape varietals is one of the most important aspects of producing quality wines. In Chile there are a range of terroirs that are beneficial to many different varietals. It is the winemakers’ job to know which region is best suited for a specific varietal and to continually seek out new and unexplored terroirs, thus the term terroir hunting. As you navigate through Terroir Hunting, you will also become an expert on terroir, the winemaking process as well as selling and marketing your own wine.

“We think wine enthusiasts will have a lot of fun with this game,” says Lori Tieszen, Executive Director of Wines of Chile USA. “Becoming a terroir hunter on Facebook gives people the opportunity to virtually experience the importance of terroir in Chile and how it translates into quality wines.”

Winemakers and oenologists from Casa Silva, San Esteban, San Pedro, Santa Rita, De Martino, Undurraga, Valdivieso, Veramonte and Viña Altair will be offering expert advice and tips as the players continue to expand their wineries.
To learn more about Wines of Chile and to start playing the Terroir Hunting game, please visit http://www.facebook.com/WinesOfChile. And don’t forget, you can always visit My Wine Education on Facebook as well, where I’m trying to post photos of my current trip to Calistoga.

Editor’s note: I apologize for just cut and pasting a press release, but I’m out of town with limited access and I thought this sounded interesting enough to post.

The folks at Mad Men are making it hard for me to write this weekly column. I blame the marketing folks who have turned Don from a bourbon and rye drinker into a Canadian Club drinker this season. It does seem to be the drink of choice in his office.

I do realize that Pete ordered a Dewar’s on the rocks, but do you really want me to struggle through scotch again? Instead, I noticed an ad go by for the Mad Men Cocktail Couture iPhone app. Well, I don’t have an iPhone, but I have an iPad, so I downloaded it and started to play.

The app is restricted by age, so keep that in mind. Can’t have the kiddies downloading the cocktail guide, you know. It is a cocktail guide, but it’s also a game.

You get one “drink” for free – Betty’s vodka gimlet. The point of the game is to mix the drinks, including shaking your iDevice and pouring, using the correct amount of each ingredients. The novice level pretty much tells you what goes into the drink and then you just need to remember. The expert level expects you to know. (So, Molly and Josh, you guys better rock at Expert level of this game.)

I like that the game tells you where or who to associate the drink with in the show. For instance, Betty has had a vodka gimlet when out with Don and when she went to pick up a guy in a bar.

In order to score points you have to use the accelerometer in the phone to pour the exact amount of vodka, which is fun. If a shaker is required, you have to shake the phone, and so on.

At the end of it all, assuming you have made a successful cocktail, you can tip your iDevice and “drink” your creation.

The game really is fun and it does include recipes, which could be useful on the spot, but off the top you can only access the vodka gimlet. To view and play the 20 other cocktails (including a Manhattan, Tom Collins, and Old Fashioned), you need to pay $1.99. I have mixed emotions about this. In essence, you’re paying AMC and iTunes $1.99 to be marketed to. On the other hand, if Don Draper were working for Ogilvie or BBDO in 2010, he’d probably think that was a great idea. It does sort of work with the show.

As far as the show last night, I’m rooting for Peggy. I rather like that she’s stumbling into 60s era “fun” New York and is seeing a little more of what’s out there beyond a husband, kids, and house in the suburbs. Allison? Well, she should have known better than to even assume there was a chance with Don. Let’s just cross our fingers that she isn’t pregnant. Why can’t all of the office girls be as in control of themselves as Joan? Finally, I sort of miss Betty. There’s a certain brand of evil that she has mastered and I miss seeing it. Based on next week’s show, she may be back in the picture a bit. What did you think of last night’s episode?

I tweet. You can find me under my professional moniker of @writetechnology. I’ve been tweeting since the very beginning (I have Early Adopter Syndrome). Lately my tweets have been sparse, as I’ve been putting together a failing class reunion (failing!) and all my attention has been on Facebook. Apparently I don’t do well at handling both at the same time when one is full throttle.

That said, as soon as this reunion business is over, I’m taking a much needed break from my personal Facebook page (and seriously thinning my friends list), and heading back to Twitter. It was always my first love anyway.

Earlier in the year, Twitter announced that they are working with CrushPad to create a Twitter-branded wine called Fledgling. I have my own suspicions as to why they decided to do this, based in part on the wine leanings of a now-former employee of Twitter. Regardless of why they did it, proceeds from the wine go to charity.

Crushpad is a cool place. Located in Napa, they provide grapes from both California and French vineyards. They also give you a wine maker and associated team and a complete winery that focuses on small lots of wine. Crushpad provides grapes from top California and Bordeaux vineyards, an industry-acclaimed wine making team, and a state-of-the-art winery 100% focused on making wine in small lots. It’s a brilliant idea, making it possible (and affordable) for people like you and me – or more likely a group of people like you and me – to create their own wine and label. It’s not a one-bottle-at-a-time thing. It’s your own winery.

As for the Twitter wine, for each bottle that you purchase, $5 goes to help Room to Read, a children’s literacy organization that works worldwide. Fledgling sales, in particular, will help promote literacy in Uttarakhand, India.

Both a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay are available. I pre-ordered a bottle of the Pinot Noir. Bottles cost $20, but shipping (at least to Ohio, where I imagine they are pulling strings and working around the system) is a whopping $20 as well. Because I really wanted to try this wine – and I wouldn’t expect a charity wine to provide press samples – I went ahead and ordered it in spite of the shipping charge.

Okay, so Twitter announced this months ago. Why am I bringing it up now? They’re bottling on August 25 and shipping out soon after. Go order your bottle of Fledgling and support a great cause. And of course, you can tweet about it later!

If you happen to stumble on this version of the blog, please know that we are in transition. Currently, wine-girl.net is hosted on Typepad but over the next two weeks, we are transitioning to WordPress. Until that time, please use our primary site at http://www.wine-girl.net.